A1 · Unit 8 · 46 words, 2 texts with translation
Ask the time and describe your day
Ask and tell the time, name the days of the week, and talk about your daily routine.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Telling time: ¿Qué hora es?
To ask the time, say ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?) or, more politely, ¿Tiene hora? (Do you have the time?). To answer, use es la for one o'clock only (una) and son las for all the other hours. Times are always feminine, because the word hora (hour) is understood.
| Time | In Spanish | In English |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | Es la una. | It's one o'clock. |
| 2:00 | Son las dos. | It's two o'clock. |
| 3:00 | Son las tres en punto. | It's three o'clock sharp. |
| 4:15 | Son las cuatro y cuarto. | It's a quarter past four. |
| 5:30 | Son las cinco y media. | It's half past five. |
| 6:45 | Son las siete menos cuarto. | It's a quarter to seven. |
| 7:10 | Son las siete y diez. | It's ten past seven. |
| 8:50 | Son las nueve menos diez. | It's ten to nine. |
y— "and": minutes after the hour (y cuarto, y media, y diez), like English "past".menos— "minus": minutes before the next hour (menos cuarto, menos diez), like English "to".en punto— "o'clock sharp", exactly on the hour.- To say at what time something happens, use a: ¿A qué hora es la cena? (What time is dinner?) A las nueve. (At nine.) La clase empieza a las diez y media. (Class starts at ten thirty.)
- Parts of the day: por la mañana (in the morning), por la tarde (in the afternoon and early evening, until dinner), por la noche (late in the evening and at night). With a clock time, use de la instead: a las siete de la mañana (at seven in the morning, 7 a.m.).
Days of the week: el lunes, los lunes
Days of the week are masculine and, unlike in English, they're written in lowercase: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo (Monday to Sunday).
| What you say | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| What day is it? | ¿Qué día es hoy? — Hoy es martes. | What day is it today? — Today is Tuesday. |
| On one day | el lunes | on Monday (this or next Monday) |
| Every week | los lunes | on Mondays |
| Tomorrow | Mañana es miércoles. | Tomorrow is Wednesday. |
| The weekend | el fin de semana, los fines de semana | on the weekend, on weekends |
Spanish has no word for "on" here: the article el or los does the job.
- El sábado vamos al parque. — On Saturday we're going to the park.
- Los domingos como con mi familia. — On Sundays I have lunch with my family.
- hoy (today), mañana (tomorrow) and ahora (now) are time words. Don't mix them up: la mañana is "morning", mañana is "tomorrow".
- A time span: desde … hasta … — "from … to …": Trabajo desde el lunes hasta el viernes. (I work from Monday to Friday.) Estoy aquí desde las nueve hasta las cinco. (I'm here from nine to five.)
- The order of events: primero (first), después / luego (then, later), antes de (before): Primero desayuno, luego me ducho. (First I have breakfast, then I take a shower.) Antes de dormir, leo. (Before going to sleep, I read.)
Reflexive verbs: levantarse, ducharse…
Daily routines are described with reflexive verbs: the action goes back to the person who does it. In the dictionary they end in -se (levantarse — to get up). In English you usually just say "get up" or "take a shower", without "myself". When you conjugate the verb, a small pronoun goes before it, and this pronoun changes with the person:
| Person | Pronoun | Form (levantarse) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me | me levanto | I get up |
| tú | te | te levantas | you get up |
| él / ella / usted | se | se levanta | he/she gets up, you (formal) get up |
| nosotros | nos | nos levantamos | we get up |
| vosotros | os | os levantáis | you (plural) get up |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | se | se levantan | they get up, you (plural formal) get up |
The endings are the usual ones for -ar verbs: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.
- Me levanto a las siete. — I get up at seven.
- Mi hermano se ducha por la mañana. — My brother takes a shower in the morning.
- Nos acostamos a las once. — We go to bed at eleven.
Some verbs change their stem (only in the yo, tú, él and ellos forms; not in nosotros and vosotros):
| Verb | Change | yo form |
|---|---|---|
| despertarse | e → ie | me despierto |
| acostarse | o → ue | me acuesto |
| dormir | o → ue | duermo |
| volver | o → ue | vuelvo |
| empezar | e → ie | empiezo |
Desayunar, cenar and terminar are regular, but salir has an irregular yo form, salgo: Salgo de casa a las ocho. (I leave home at eight.)
Words in this unit
la hora — hour, time
¿Qué hora es? — What time is it?
¿qué hora es? — what time is it?
Perdone, ¿qué hora es? — Excuse me, what time is it? (formal)
el día — day
Buenos días. — Good morning.
la mañana — morning
Por la mañana desayuno café con pan. — In the morning I have coffee and bread for breakfast.
la tarde — afternoon, early evening
Buenas tardes. — Good afternoon.
tarde — late
Cenamos muy tarde. — We have dinner very late.
la noche — night, evening
Buenas noches. — Good night.
ahora — now
Ahora son las ocho. — It's eight o'clock now.
cuándo — when?
¿Cuándo vienes? — When are you coming?
medio — half
Son las tres y media. — It's half past three.
el cuarto — quarter
Son las dos y cuarto. — It's a quarter past two.
en punto — o'clock sharp, exactly
Son las seis en punto. — It's six o'clock sharp.
el minuto — minute
Un minuto, por favor. — One minute, please.
levantarse — to get up
Me levanto a las siete. — I get up at seven.
ducharse — to take a shower, to shower
Me ducho por la mañana. — I take a shower in the morning.
despertarse — to wake up
Me despierto a las siete. — I wake up at seven.
acostarse — to go to bed
Me acuesto a las once. — I go to bed at eleven.
dormir — to sleep
Duermo ocho horas. — I sleep eight hours.
desayunar — to have breakfast
Desayuno a las ocho. — I have breakfast at eight.
cenar — to have dinner
Cenamos a las nueve. — We have dinner at nine.
salir — to leave, to go out
Salgo de casa a las ocho. — I leave home at eight.
volver — to come back, to go back, to return
Vuelvo a casa a las seis. — I come back home at six.
empezar — to start, to begin
La clase empieza a las nueve. — Class starts at nine.
terminar — to finish, to end
Termino a las cinco. — I finish at five.
luego — then, later
Luego te llamo. — I'll call you later.
antes — before, earlier
Antes de cenar, me ducho. — Before having dinner, I take a shower.
temprano — early
Me levanto muy temprano. — I get up very early.
desde — from, since
Trabajo desde las nueve. — I work from nine on.
la semana — week
Una vez a la semana. — Once a week.
el fin de semana — weekend
El fin de semana descanso. — On the weekend I rest.
el lunes — Monday
El lunes trabajo. — On Monday I work.
el martes — Tuesday
El martes voy al médico. — On Tuesday I'm going to the doctor.
el miércoles — Wednesday
El miércoles tengo una reunión. — On Wednesday I have a meeting.
el jueves — Thursday
El jueves cenamos con amigos. — On Thursday we're having dinner with friends.
el viernes — Friday
¡Por fin es viernes! — It's finally Friday!
el sábado — Saturday
El sábado me levanto tarde. — On Saturday I'm getting up late.
el domingo — Sunday
El domingo descansamos. — On Sunday we rest.
el tiempo — time, weather
No tengo tiempo. — I don't have time.
todos los días — every day
Todos los días desayuno en casa. — Every day I have breakfast at home.
a casa — home
Volvemos a casa a las seis. — We come back home at six.
¿a qué hora? — what time?, at what time?
¿A qué hora desayunas? — A las ocho. — What time do you have breakfast? — At eight.
entre semana — during the week, on weekdays
Entre semana trabajo hasta las seis. — During the week I work until six.
de la mañana — in the morning (with a time), a.m.
El tren sale a las seis de la mañana. — The train leaves at six in the morning.
de la tarde — in the afternoon, in the evening (with a time), p.m.
La clase termina a las cuatro de la tarde. — Class ends at four in the afternoon.
por la mañana — in the morning, in the mornings
Por la mañana bebo café. — In the morning I drink coffee.
por fin — finally, at last
¡Por fin vacaciones! — Vacation at last!
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